Galvanic responses of corneal cells may possibly be exploited clinically for the promotion or acceleration of corneal wound healing. This RO3 proposes to conduct background studies using corneal cells cultured in a specially-designed galvanotaxis chamber that allows passage of a of DC electric field through the culture. This proJect is a pilot study, onto which considerably expanded research in the future may be based. This RO3 grant has 3 immediate objectives: 1) to establish the stimulus-response characteristics of corneal (epithelial and stromal) cell movements (galvanotropism and galvanotaxis) in tissue culture to applied DC electric fields, 2) to correlate field- induced channel in cell morphology to cellular movement and damage, and 3) to improve our rudimentary experimental setup, which presently has significant limitations that will restrict further amplification of the research. These are all part of a broader, long-term objective of better understanding the basic science of galvanotropism and galvanotaxis in corneal cells, an area in which little, if any, knowledge currently exists. Future research will be an expansion of the present background studies and will include studies of mitogenic effects, organ culture wound-healing and human corneal cell cultures, eventually leading to in vivo animal studies, and ultimately, to human clinical investigations. The final clinical goal is to utilize galvanotropic and galvanotaxic phenomena to enhance human corneal wound healing.